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Stereotactic radiosurgery - CyberKnife

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)is a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-powerenergy on a small area of the body. Despite its name, radiosurgery is a treatment, not a surgical procedure. Incisions (cuts) are not made on your body.

More than one system is used to perform radiosurgery. This article is about radiosurgery using CyberKnife.

Description

During treatment you lie on a table,whichslides into a machine that delivers radiation.

A robotic arm controlled by a computer moves around you. It focuses radiation exactly on the area being treated.

You are not put to sleep. The treatment does not cause pain.

The nurses and doctorscan see you on cameras. They can hear you and talk with you on microphones.

Each treatment takes about 30 minutes to2 hours. Some patients receive more than one treatment session, but usually no more than five sessions.

Why the Procedure Is Performed

SRStargets and treats an abnormal area without damaging nearby healthy tissue. SRS is more likely to be recommended for patients who are at high risk of surgery. These patients include the elderly or those who are very ill.

CyberKnifeis often used to slow the growth of small, deep brain tumors that are hard to remove during surgery that involves incisions.

Tumors of the brain and nervous system that can be treated using CyberKnife include:

Cancer that has spread (metastisized)to the brain from another part of the body

A slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain (acoustic neuroma)

Acoustic neuroma

An acoustic neuroma is a slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain. This nerve is called the vestibular cochlear nerve. It...

Trigeminal neuralgia

Risks

SRSmay damage tissue around the area being treated. As compared to other types of radiation therapy, CyberKnife treatment is much less likely to damage nearby healthy tissue.

Brain swelling may occur in people who receive treatment to the brain. Swellingusually goesaway without treatment. But some people may need medicines to control this swelling. In rare cases, surgery with incisions (open surgery) is needed to treat the brain swelling caused by the radiation.

Before the Procedure

Before the treatment, you will have MRI or CT scans. These images help your doctor determine the specific treatment area.

MRI

An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan is an imaging test that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create pictures of the body. It does not u...

Do not use any hair creams or hair spray if CyberKnife surgery involves your brain.

Do not eat or drink anything after midnight unless told otherwise by your doctor.

The day of your procedure:

Wear comfortable clothing.

Bring your regular prescription medicines with you to the hospital.

Do not wear jewelry, makeup, nail polish, or a wig or hairpiece.

You will be asked to remove contact lenses, eyeglasses, and dentures.

You will change into a hospital gown.

An intravenous (lV) line will be placed into your arm to deliver contrast material, medicines, and fluids.

After the Procedure

Often, youcan go home about1 hour after the treatment. Arrange ahead of timefor someone to drive you home. You can go back toyour regular activities the next day if there are no complications such as swelling. If you have complications, you may need to stay in the hospital overnight for monitoring.

Outlook (Prognosis)

The effects ofCyberKnife treatmentmay take weeks or months to be seen. Prognosis depends on the condition being treated. Your health care provider will likely monitor your progress using imaging tests such as MRI and CT scans.